Machine and method of forming a package



Dec. 5, 1950 v M. WAGNER 2,532,371

MACHINE AND METHOD OF FORMING A PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 21, 1945 BY 67W 907W ATI'O RN EY INVE NTOR F MELVIN WAGNER Dec. 5, 1950 M. WAGNER MACHINE AND METHOD OF FORMING A PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed Sept. 21, 1945 m u I I I INVEWOR MELVI r74 WAGNER BY AT TO RN EYS Dec. 5, 1950 M. WAGNER N 2,532,871

MACHINE AND METHOD OF FORMING A PACKAGE Filed Sept. 21, 1945 4 Sheets-Shegt 3 mum (mun INVENTOR MELVI N WAGNER Dec. 5, 1950 M. WAGNER MACHINE AND METHOD OF FORMING'A PACKAGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 21, 1945 INVENTOR M ELVI N WAGNER BY ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 5, 1950 UNITED MACHINE AND METHOD OF FORMING A PAGKAGE Melvin Wagner, Ambler, Pa, assigncr to Glenside Bag Company, Glenside, Pa., a copartnership Application September 21, 1945, Serial No. 617,7 85

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a package for the packaging of foodstufis and other materials, and in particular to the method of making, filling and sealing a heat sealed package.

It is an object of this invention to provide for a preformed container in which is placed and expanded under heat or pressure, or both, a onepiece heat scalable liner preferably of thermoplastic material, and which can be filled, sealed and the package closed by a series of operations.

It is an object of this invention to provide a lined container in which the lining is blown in one piece against the inner walls of the container and. caused to line, adhere and seal the interior of the container.

It is a further object to provide in association with this heat sealed liner, means of expanding it under the influence of hot or cold gases or hot or cold liquids, and of heating the container by the heat of the liquids and means to fill it with dry or semi-dry materials.

It is an object of this invention to provide a method by which continuous strips of heat sealable material are fed into containers, caused to expand within the containers and line said containers; and thereafter the containers so lined are filled and sealed.

It is an object of this invention to provide means by which a heat sealing liner is blown into a container with hot gases, while in this thermoplastic condition it is caused to conform to the configuration of the container and adhere thereto.

It is a further object to provide means such as a revolution of the package after it has once been filled so as to twist the thermoplastic liner and bring about its ultimate heat sealing.

' It is a further object to provide a tubular container with a tubular inserted thermoplastic liner which is caused to adhere to the interior thereof.

It is an additional object to provide a thermoplastic container without an outside reinforcing and supporting container and to provide means and method by which either a filled or molten thermoplastic can be fed into a blowing spout and blown into a mold, the mold can be cooled, the product can be placed within the blown plastie and the plastic sealed to the top so that in this case the plastic itself becomes the entire package.

It is an object of this invention to provide a seamless, continuous thermoplastic skin around the product to enclose it to eliminate the previous failures in hermetically scalable packages which occur at the seams.

It will be understood that in the art heretofore as practiced that the difficulties with packages having either exterior or interior linings of thermoplastic materials has been the sealing of the seams either of the thermoplastic material or the combination of thermoplastic material and the board container.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate these difficulties by providing a one piece thermoplastic liner or container so that there are no joints, seams or other breaks in the continuous body which cause difiiculty due to leakage.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the mechanism for supplying from a continuous roll of sheets of thermoplastic material by sealing them beneath a table and over a guide and into a container supported beneath the thermoplastic sheet.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1, the remainder of Figure: 2 being shown in elevation.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the heat-sealable plastic sheet being moved up into position on the filler spout, and the gas delivery spout.

Figure 4 is a view showing the heat sealable liner as delivered into the interior of the supporting container and with the heat sealable liner partially expanded by the application of hot gases which have pressed the heat scalable liner towards the bottom and a part of the inner walls of the container.

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the completion of the operation of applying the hot gases to cause the thermoplastic material to completely engage the inner walls of the container.

Figure 6 is a similar view showing the filling operation by which the expanded thermoplastic liner is now being filled with materials that are passing into it from the measuring hopper through the filler spout.

igure '7 illustrates one method of sealing the thermoplastic container by twisting the top thereof.

Figure 8 is a similar view showing the result of the twisting action and the severance of the top of the thermoplastic material from the remainder of the sheet.

Figure 9 is a sectional View showing the completely filled and sealed composite package of this invention.

Figure 10 is a section on the line l0l0, k-

3 ing in the direction of the arrows, on Figure 2.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 2 showing an alternative method of heat- Figure 12 is a section through a mold and its cooling mechanism for receiving a sheet of relatively heavy thermoplastic material to form an unsupported container together with a showing in section or the support for the filler, the gas passageway and the filler passageway.

Figure 13 is a similar view showing the thermoplastic container after it has beenfilled, twisted, sealed and the material of the package out away from the remainder material by the use of a flame for hermetically sealing and cutting off the material.

Figure 14 is a perspective viewof the preformed container used in the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to inclusive.

Figure 15 illustrates a plastic lining in the shape of a tube.

Figure 16 is a perspective view of a type of round, preformed container for use with the tube-shaped lining shown inFigure; 15;

Figure 17 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the tubular lining mounted upon the gas delivering spout.

Figure, 18' is:a view showing the thermoplastic tubular sealing body withinrthe; container.

Figure 19 illustrates the filling and sealing of the plastic container.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I designates a rollof. thermoplastic material such as Pliofilm or other similar thermoplastic sheet material. spindle 2 which in; turn is supported on the bracket' 3-. The sheetipasses over the outer roll 6 between the heaters Eand-E-and thence between the feeding and guiding rolls '5 over the support 8 between the cutting rolls 9 and iii which are provided respectively with a; cuttng knife I land a receiving; groove t2, whereby'the sheets are cut in. lengths as-=indicated at it; The sheets are moved away from the remainder of the con.- tinuous sheet by thebelt conveyor consistingiof the belt; lA-and the drivingrollers l5 and H6. The sheet t3 passesv over. the support ring IT. This supporting ring is mounted: upon a reciprocating supporting bracket I 8; the base of which at E9 serves as asupport for thecontainer of cardboard or other: similar materials designated 20. This container is sealed; at. thebottom. and open at the top. It, is placed beneath the ring: l'l and,.in position to receive the sheet !3 ashereinafter described.

Above the sheet. l3 and abovethe supporting ring I? is the following structure; A gas supplying tube 2! is p ovided with gas supplying pipes or passageways 22-. The bottom of this, tube Zlis openv at 23; This tube fits within the opening Ha of the ring l? andis adapted to pass through it. The relative movement of the tube 2! engaging' with the sheet If; draws-the sheet through the opening ll'a of the ringi] until the ring ll engages the annular shoulder 24 on the exterior ofthe tube-and thereby embracesthe upper margins of the thermoplastic sheet 53 between the ring I1 and the shoulder 24' where their annular tapered faces come together with the sheet betweenthem. This action of the tube 21 in placing the thermoplastic sheet within the container 2d brings it toa point adjacent the bottom of that container.

Thereafter, hot gases are admitted to-the, pipes 22-. through the thermoplastic container to be This roll is mounted upon a spool or a heated and expanded. As this occurs, the tube 2i is withdrawn and the thermoplastic sheet I3 is forced outwardly against the inner walls of the container 29 in such a manner that, due to its being heated and therefore plastic, it will adhere to those inner walls and form a continuous lining for the container 25.

It. will be understood that the supply pipe 2| has mounted on the exterior thereof the ring 24 which reciprocates over its surface and is moved by the actuator E la. The loading or feed tube 25 iscarried within the gas tube 2| in spaced relationship. Both of these tubes are supported by reason of the carrier plate 2S that is connected in thetop of: the filler tube 25. This supporting plate 28 or under table rotates beneath the main table 2?. The filler spout 25 is provided with a sprin supported door 28 hinged to Zitengaging the abutment 39.

The pipes 22 shown diagrammatically in the several views are connected to.;seurces of cold or hot gas through the slots 3 for cold gas and 32 for hot gas from a suitablesource of supply when the under table 2 5 has brought the assembled. parts fromposition- A to positionB. When the under table moves the assembled: parts fromposition B- to' p sition; C it 7 brings them 1 beneath the hopper through which the material 34- is admitted. from the; measuring spout 35 controlled by the; arm 35 whichv admits thematerials. from the supply hopperslz. It will be noted. at this time that in order to permit of the full. loading of the container with athermoplastic lining that the support it has returned to its original, lower position but that.the collanz'd has remainedin engagement. with; the? thermoplastic sheet and has continued toi clam p it in. cooperation with; the' ring' l1. In this way, the supply of material. be-fully discharged into the container to fill itgandlany continued supplyof gas may also be affected; 7 Thereafter the-filled container is moved from, position C through position Dduringwhich'per-iod. it is rotated as in-- dicated as in Figure 7.. This serveste; impartra. twist 3S3 tothetop of the thermoplastic lining. By the time that thistwistiis completed. the con.- tainer has arrived at position lii where the. surp1u s -mate rial ofthermoplastic sheet: I 3 issevered atqifi either bya flamedll orother means. There.- after the container- 25 has its topportions. 20a: turned over-and sealed. This may-be effected in any; type of automatic or hand machine well known in the art.

With.referenceto-Figure 1 1-, this islan alternative, constructionltothat shown in Figure 2. In; addition tothe heater, 5; there is provided; an. alternative method-of. heating through the coil 6a..

Referringto Figures Handv 13; these views illustratethemethod of making a;self-support.- ing thermoplastic fuel=containeu withoutv an outer supporting board container. By using heavier film itis possible to. provide such a containerain the manner hereinafter described...

Awater cooledmold designated ti having. passageways 32i forthe water 43 or other coolingor heating liquid. is so arranged to receive afsheetl of film that is ofheavier construction thanrth'at shown in other views 'anddesignat'ed 44. This. film is clamped to its upper'edges after having been introduced intothe mold E1- in the same manner that the film liner was introduced into the container 2e. Thereafter the application'of hot gases is sufiicient tov cause the film M te assume the proper configuration.- closely within- E i gases or cold water in the passageways 42 or both are applied. Thereafter the film container-44 is filled, twisted and the surplus material severed by the flame 49. the same as that heretofore described but in the views 12 and IS the difference lies in the use of the mold t! in the place of the container and in the controlling of the temperature of the mold.

Referring to Figures 15, 16,17, 18 and 19, this modification illustrates the use of a preformed tube with a closed bottom made in any desirable manner from a sheet of thermoplastic material. This container is in theform of a testtube which is generally insufiicient in strength to act as a container by itself. It is designated 45 and is provided with a bottom 46 and an upper marginal flange 4?. The upper marginal flange 41 is engaged between the clamping rings Ill) and 241). At that time the filler spout 251) has been introduced into the interior of the tube a5. In the interim, the external container in the form' of a tube marked '48 has been moved upwardly over the thermoplastic tube 45. The application of hot gas causes the interior thermoplastic tube to expand against the inner walls of the outer container tube and to adhere thereto. Thereafter the procedure of filling and scaling is similar to that already described.

Method The method of construction of the package of this invention can best be described as providing a bubble to provide the lining material for the protection of the packaged material. This bubble is blown with hot gases, into a carton made of chip board or any other such material, having either cylindrical or square walls. This method embraces the first step of taking from a supply a given sized sheet of material to form the bubble. This sheet, preferably of thermoplastic material, is then manually or automatically placed in position within the container. At the same time both the filling spout and the'gas supplying spout are inserted to their maximum depth within the bubble of thermoplastic material thus roughly formed within the container. Thereafter the upper edges of the sheet to form the bubble are firmly engaged and grasped so as to hold them in position. Then the hot gases are supplied to the interior of this roughly formed bubble. The effect of the hot gases is to both expand the thermoplastic material outwardly against the interior walls of the container to form a close fit and to also cause the thermoplastic material constituting the bubble to adhere to the interior of the container due to the fact that the hot gases have softened the material.

Cold gas may be used to cool and harden the thermoplastic material prior to filling with the product.

Thereafter the gas supplying spout and the material supplying spout are withdrawn, and as they are withdrawn the material that is to be packaged is introduced within the container while it is still under gas pressure to some degree. The exact sequence of the application of the gas and of the material depends upon the type of material and the type of container.

Upon the accomplishment of the foregoing steps of the method, the supplying spout for material and supplying spout for gas are completely withdrawn while the material is contained up to the limit desired within th container. There- In general, the procedure is after the following step of rotating the container is performed so as to twist thetopof the thermo-.' plastic material. Then the next step is to sever that material preferably by a flame or other cut ting means. Thereafter the top of the containeris folded over and sealed in the customary manner thereby completing the package.

In the drawings and as described hereinbefore, one of the ways of performing the foregoing method, but not the only way, is to provide a rotary table that conveys the packaging machinery performing the above steps to a series of stations (A), for initial formation of the sheet into a rough bubble; (B) for the introduction of gas; (C) for the filling of the container with material; (D) for twisting the top of the thermoplastic material to seal the bubble; and (E) cutting off the top of the material above the seal and folding over the top of the container and sealing it to complete modifications both of method and of apparatus as may be necessary to adapt this invention to various conditions of usage all within the scope of the hereinafter appended claims. It will be further understood that the illustrations of this application are purely diagrammatic and illustrative and are not meant to be drawn to scale nor to be construed as a limitation as to construction or method of operation. For instance, the heaters may vary in a great variety of ways and the particular mechanism of feeding, of supplying gas, of holding the thermoplastic material and of presenting the package to different stages may be varied in endless manner,

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as come within the scope of the claims and the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a method of forming a package, holding a portion of a sheet of thermoplastic material marginally, blowing hot gases into th interior thereof to expand and heat the thermoplastic material, forming it into a package of predetermined shape, regulating the temperature of the containing means in order to fix the shape of the thermoplastic material after it is so blown, rotating the thermoplastic bubble so blown to cause the portion thereof that is held marginally to be twisted just below where it is so held, and severing such material above the twist to remove the surplus thermoplastic material so held.

2. In a method of forming a package, the steps of (a) providing a sheet of thermoplastic material, (b) providing a support container, (0) introducing said supply of thermoplastic material into the container with the portion removed from theedges of the sheet forced adjacent the support container bottom and the edges of said sheet being maintained outside of the support container, (12) blowing said thermoplastic material outwardly in a bubble against the inner walls of the container to form a seamless lining, (e) filling said container, (f) twisting and sealing the thermoplastic material to seal the material therewithin, (g) severing the surplus thermoplastic material, and (h) folding over the top of the outer container and sealing it.

3. In a machine for manufacturing containers,

7 means for feeding preheated sheets of thermoplastic material one by one to a loading-position, means to telescope eaeh'of said sheets into agave for-med outer container having an open end by inserting said sheet in said outer container, means for introducing gas into said container and sheet,

means for introducing materials to be packaged within said sheet, means to graspthe upperedg es of said-sheet at least during said blowing and filling operation, and means for moving said con tainer and its sheet step by step from an inserting position to a gas-blowing position, to a filling 'position, to a twisting position to seal the thermoplasti'c sheet, and to a cut-oil and sealing position.

4. :In a machine for forming containers, means of supplying -'a preheated sheet of thermoplastic material, means of severing said sheet in lengths, means-of feeding said lengths to-a posit-ion rhorizontally -disposed=over a vertically disposed openmouth outer container, means of telescopically arranging the thermoplastic sheet within the eontainer, means of grasping the upper margin of said sheet, means of introducing-hot :gases within said thermoplastic sheet to blow it as a bubble against the inner walls of said container White the upper edges of the sheet are so held, means for introducing material into the bubble so :blown, means 'of rotating the composite package thus REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file or this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,737,374 Busch Dec. 3, 1929 1,790,397 Woods 'et a1 Jan. '27, 1931 2,158,837 Schu'kra'ft May 16, 1939 2,289,668 Mallory July 14, 1942 2 ,295;0'66 Weikert Sept. a, 1942 12,328,798 Gardner Sept. '7, 1943 2,335,978 Vogt .Dec. 7,, 1943 2,338,603 SiIVeyra Jan.'4, 1944 2,349,177 Kopitke May 16, 1944 2,394,935 Palmer Feb. 12, 1946 2,403,482 Cloud July 9, 1946 

